At Home in the World

42 Places You'd Rather Be Right Now

Summer has officially started, but here you are, back at work after an amazing three-day weekend. If the thought of meetings, deadlines, and any sort of responsibility whatsoever is bringing you down this morning, let these exotic locales inspire a little daydreaming about warmer climes, sandy beaches, and your next great vacation.

42 Places You'd Rather Be Right Now

Summer has officially started, but here you are, back at work after an amazing three-day weekend. If the thought of meetings, deadlines, and any sort of responsibility whatsoever is bringing you down this morning, let these exotic locales inspire a little daydreaming about warmer climes, sandy beaches, and your next great vacation.

Sunrise views over the Pacific and sunsets over the lagoon and Mount Otemanu make this Polynesian village resort beyond beautiful. Surrounded by coconut palms, buildings have leaf-thatched roofs and walls made of volcanic stone with mother-of-pearl accents. Rooms include overwater bungalows, allowing guests to view schools of fish below or gaze above into the sky.

It was once accessible only by water (there's now a rough road, though most visitors still arrive by boat), so thirsty sailors would brave the waters to make it ashore, and pay with wet, disintegrating bills. Read more about it in The Best Beachside Bars and Restaurants in the Caribbean.

Mangia, mangia

One of the UK’s most-visited stately homes, Chatsworth in the Peak District is the major location for Pemberley, Mr. Darcy’s estate, in the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy. The grand staircase and sculpture gallery get quite a lot of screen time.

Société Roquefort

Legend has it that Southern France’s Combalou Mountain caves have been aging the world’s most famous bleus since at least Roman times, when a shepherd left a sheep’s-curd-and-rye sandwich in a small cave and later discovered it filled with mold. Ravenous, he ate the meal anyway. Today, rye bread still cultivates the Penicillium Roqueforti mold that gives the cheese its blue-green spots, but the process is more refined. Cheese-makers first wrap each wheel in thin pewter sheets, then store them underground to mature in the limestone caves, naturally aerated via small fissures, called fleurines, in the stone walls. One-hour tours, culminating in a tasting-room stop, operate daily.

Cabanes als Arbres

Perched high above the forest floor in Spain's Les Guilleries mountains, the treehouses at Cabanes als Arbres may lack electricity and running water, but they make up for it with stunning views of the Pyrenees and Montseny mountain ranges.

Though a construction date is still TBA, the Poseidon Undersea Resort, a private island property in Fiji, plans to become the world's first luxury underwater eco-resort. The facilities will include 75 rooms and suites, a restaurant/bar, a library/lounge, a spa, a wedding chapel, and a theater. In addition to land-based suites, the resort will unveil the Nautilus Suite—the world's largest underwater dwelling, decked out in the style of Jules Vernes' fictional submarine.

Timmy: Hotel Monaco

Working dogs don't get much cooler than Timmy, the Hotel Monaco Portland's eight-year-old yellow Lab who has been known to sport a pair of shades, work a fedora, and rock a bow tie. As the hotel's Director of Pet Relations, Timmy and his trusty Nylabone can usually be found at the concierge desk, where he happily points visitors toward his favorite pet-friendly spots in the city (and accompanies a few of them, too).

Because King Pacific Lodge sits on a former U.S. Navy floating barge, guests arrive by hydroplane; rooms overlook the wildlife of the Great Bear Rainforest and come with slate bathrooms with soaking tubs and driftwood furniture. Overall score: 97